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Barchester Pilgrimage

novel by Ronald Knox

Manuscripts, fine bindings, an engraving plate and preserved performance ephemera
Arts and lettersInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionJun 10, 2026
Entity authorityQ4864989 ↗
Source-derived summary

Barchester Pilgrimage is a 1935 novel by Ronald Knox, published in London by Sheed and Ward, in which Knox picks up the narrative of the original Chronicles of Barsetshire where Anthony Trollope breaks off. Knox follows the fortunes of the children and grandchildren of Trollope's characters up to the time of writing (1934), with some gentle satire on the social, political and religious changes of the 20th century. The novel was reprinted in 1990 by the Trollope Society.

Plot summary

Knox narrates the plot through the eyes of Mr. Bunce. The novel begins with an introduction to some characters including Johnny Bold, Dean Arabin, Eleanor Arabin, Archdeacon Grantley and many more. Johnny Bold is placed as the protagonist, who becomes an atheist in a town where atheism is rare. This atheism is then reflected in Bold's progression into becoming a doctor, shadowing a certain Dr. Fillgrave. Meanwhile, Augusta Oriel, a conscientious and religious woman is introduced who seemingly falls ill and is then treated by Johnny Bold.

Editorial summary

Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Barchester Pilgrimage” is novel by Ronald Knox. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Barchester, Pilgrimage and novel, not as a finished interpretation.

Editorial reviewA useful identification and reception guide that helps separate the work itself from editions, performances, ownership and later interpretation. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1935, 1934, 1990—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. For this dossier, Barchester, Pilgrimage and novel is the immediate research focus.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The phrase “novel by Ronald Knox” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.

Evidence profile

Attribution, date and provenance are strongest when supported by the original work, a catalogue record and documented transmission. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jun 10, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q4864989. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1935, 1934 and 1990.

Critical limits

Titles can refer to several editions, objects or performances, making precise identification essential before interpretation. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Separate the work, its editions or performances, and its later reception. Catalogue records, publication histories and object files often preserve different parts of that story.

Best used for
  • Identifying works and editions
  • Tracing reception history
  • Finding collection records
Verify next

The original object or edition, catalogue raisonné, performance record, rights file and holding institution.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Barchester Pilgrimage”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Barchester Pilgrimage primary sources, Barchester Pilgrimage archive and Barchester research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Barchester Pilgrimage”?
  2. How did later circulation or interpretation alter the work’s reception?
  3. Which edition, object, performance or recording is being described?
Subject index

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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Barchester Pilgrimage” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.